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Kids say

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A lot or a little?

The parents' guide to what's in this app.

Educational Value

Bloons TD 5 wasn't created with educational intent, and we don't recommend it for learning.

Ease of Play

The controls are easy to learn and to use. The game has three difficulty levels, which vary greatly in the amount of challenge they pose. "Easy" level should be fine for newcomers. There is, however, no tutorial, which creates a somewhat steep learning curve at the beginning of the game.

Violence

There are cannons, mortars, bombs, and other weapons that create fiery explosions -- however, the only things being shot with these weapons are balloons.

Sex

Language

Consumerism

Players can buy upgrades using "Monkey Money," which is earned throughout the game or can be bought via in-app purchase for rates from $1 to $65. A link also steers players to other games by the developer.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Bloons TD 5 is a "tower defense" style strategy game that adds a comedic absurd layer to the well-known formula. Instead of soldiers or actual towers, the game uses an army of monkeys, who strive to pop armies of balloons. There are some explosions -- and in-app purchase opportunities to watch out for -- but there's nothing really objectionable here. Players can share high scores via the Game Center social network, but participation is optional.

What's it about?

Players must repel incoming waves of enemy balloons by placing defensive units (largely monkeys with varying abilities) to shoot and pop them as they progress. As the levels advance, the enemy becomes harder to defeat. Players will have to upgrade units (by tapping them and selecting from a menu) and more strategically place new units (found by tapping on the left hand side of the screen, then sliding them into position) and "agents" that are more effective, but cost in-game currency (by tapping on the bottom right side of the screen).

Is it any good?

It's hard to find true originality in the tower defense genre these days, and while Bloons TD 5 doesn't quite reach that point, it does manage to stand out from the crowd a bit. The gameplay is mostly the same as you're used to -- and doesn't vary tremendously from other Bloons titles, but the new units add some diversity, and the use of balloons as the enemy certainly makes the game more family friendly.

The cost to purchase units is high, though. And the lack of any sort of tutorial is annoying, since this game does a few things differently than other tower defense games, meaning it can be baffling for a few minutes when you first start playing and try to figure out what's what.

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